Come and Get Your Love
by Master's Duchess
Summary: Peter's always loved his ability to speed through time at a pace no one can match. What happens when a mutant with the power to control time begins to work at his favorite store to steal snacks from?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello! I was inspired by this commercial I saw with Quicksilver for SkyFibre (look it up online if you're unsure what I'm talking about, I promise you won't regret it), and I decided to begin writing a story with him. I know I haven't updated my other stories in a while, but I'm taking a break with them until I figure out where to go. But don't worry about this story, I'm really excited about it. Please let me know if you like it or if you have anything you're dying to see in a Quicksilver X-Men fanfic. I don't have any definite direction I'm taking it in until I see the newest movie in May, so ideas are definitely welcomed. Finally, I'm aware I haven't given the girl a first name yet. It'll come eventually, don't worry.

* * *

It was a particularly uneventful Wednesday afternoon when Peter first laid eyes on her. She was leaning over the checkout counter as she read the latest issue of Cosmopolitan, paying more attention to blowing bubbles with her pale pink bubblegum and tapping her wedge sandals to the beat of an ABBA song on the radio in the corner of the shop.

There was nothing special about the way her ginger hair was feathered, or about the way her sun-kissed skin seemed out of place inside on such a warm summer day, yet Peter couldn't help but think that she was a remarkable new development in the history of his small town.

She wasn't only the new teenager who worked for her grandparents in their shop (the shop that Peter always stole his snacks from), she was the beautiful seventeen-year-old girl of his dreams. Horrible taste in disco music aside, she was practically everything he had always wanted in a girl and he had to have her.

Unfortunately for him, she wanted nothing to do with him.

Peter sighed loudly and slammed the ping pong ball into the wall behind Wanda, not even caring about hitting it in her direction. Wanda's eyes narrowed in frustration at his back as he collapsed onto the couch.

Standing in front of the couch, Wanda crossed her arms and looked at her twin expectantly. "You know you can just tell me what's the matter with you instead of sighing and brooding until I ask you what's wrong."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't understand."

Wanda snorted and rolled her eyes. "No? So it wouldn't have anything to do with the new girl working at Hamilton's Corner Store?"

Shit, she was good. "What makes you think that?"

"Oh please, Peter," she laughed, "you left two minutes ago to get some popsicles and you returned with an attitude sans popsicles… I saw her yesterday when I went in to get a magazine. She is quite the pretty thing, wouldn't you agree?"

Peter appeared in front of the Pong machine and began to aggressively play against himself, not wanting to discuss what exactly led to his current mood. "I don't want to talk about her."

" _Her_?" Wanda repeated with a degree of hilarity. "She must really be something to be deserving of such a dignified pronoun from you. What happened?"

"Are you deaf?" Peter asked sarcastically. "I already told you I don't want to talk about it."

"No?" she shot right back. He didn't like the gleeful tone of her voice. "So it wouldn't have anything to do with her power would it?"

Peter's silence was all Wanda needed to know about it; the new girl in the corner shop had bested her twin brother at his game and it was a beautiful idea to behold.

 _Two minutes prior_.

"I'm going out," Peter stated, throwing down the ping pong paddle and running to the corner store with the intention of stealing some popsicles and whatever else he deemed necessary to the enjoyment of his Wednesday afternoon, the first day of summer vacation.

The corner store was an easy target, and perhaps it was too easy of a target for someone with Peter's ability, but he didn't care- it was close to his house and he was lazy. The elderly couple who owned and operated the store made it an even easier target, but, once again, laziness conquered all want of challenge.

When he speeded through the door, the first thing he noticed was that, instead of Mr. or Mrs. Hamilton behind the counter, a girl about his age was manning the shop.

The second thing he noticed, while he raced to the freezer section, was that while she was beautiful, she had horrible taste in music. ABBA wasn't his cup of tea, no matter how many times his mother and younger sister, Lorna, insisted on dancing to it throughout the house. Yet, here this girl was unconsciously bobbing her head and humming to "Dancing Queen."

The third thing he noticed, while he was reaching into the freezer, was that he was no longer speeding around the store and that the girl was standing to his side, glaring at him with an accusatory expression on her pretty face.

"Is there a reason you deem stealing from an elderly couple acceptable?" she questioned him, her perfectly arched eyebrow raised expectantly.

Peter gaped at her and tried to run away again, but she stepped in front of him to block his path of escape. "Do you have super speed too?" he asked dumbly before he could shut his mouth and consider his escape plan.

She cocked her head slightly downwards and to the side and raised her other eyebrow, so that both were raised enough to remind him of every time his mother interrogates him after police come round the house to deal with something he was suspected of stealing. "I asked my question first."

"I don't care," Peter fired back flippantly.

"Fine," she exhaled, "no, I do not have super speed."

"Well then, what do you have?" he replied, still intrigued by her; he wasn't used to being around mutants other than his sister. "Because, let's face it, darling, I know you have some kind of power."

She laughed amusedly at the "darling" part. It was nice to hear it from someone her age instead of the usual creepy older men who she came into contact with. "I'm not answering another question until you answer mine first."

Peter rolled his dark eyes at her response before he gave into her demands. "No, there is no reason. I am just bored."

She was silent for a moment before she shook her head. "Nope, bad reason. Try again."

"Fine, you got me," he exhaled impatiently. "I knew that one day I'd have the absolute pleasure of running into such a wonderful woman as yourself."

"Whatever you say, speedy," she said dismissively, examining her fingernails once more. If he didn't want to answer her honestly, she didn't have to give him her undivided attention anymore.

"What have you done to me?" he demanded finally, reaching into the freezer to retrieve his popsicles once and for all. He'd be damned if he didn't get his frozen treats after this particularly taxing encounter. He deserved a damn medal after dealing with her.

She threw her body onto the freezer door, making it slam shut. "I slowed down time."

Peter smirked smugly, noticing that he liked how she looked pressed against something. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm super fast, darling." He wondered if taking a different approach to handling her would get him out of the store quicker. He read somewhere once that flirting with girls would get them to do things faster, and he was most eager to test it out.

She smirked up at him; even in her wedges, she was still a few inches shorter than him. "Is that supposed to impress me? the fact that you can just move through time faster than other people?"

Peter's arrogant smirk faltered for a moment. "Yes?"

She laughed at his expression as he sized her up, trying to figure out what her power could possibly be. "You can speed through time. I can control time."

"You can control time," Peter repeated slowly, not quite grasping how that allowed her to beat him at his own game. Wanda always made fun of his lack of academic aptitude.

"It's called chronokinesis, and yes, I can," she explained amusedly. "Say you run one mile in one second-"

"Darling, I can run much faster than that," Peter retorted coyly.

She held up a hand to shush him as she continued. "To anyone seeing you at the start of the second, you have effectively disappeared at the end of the second, but you're actually one mile away, having moved rapidly in the space of one second."

She took a step toward him, her blue eyes burning into his dark ones as if challenging him to contradict her. "Now, imagine how fast you would be moving if the second actually was much longer than one second."

"I'm no genius," Peter interrupted, "but one second _is_ one second."

"Not to me," she smirked. "To me, we've been having this _delightful_ encounter for almost three minutes. But to you, and the rest of the world, you've been here for two seconds, tops. It's like I'm creating a pocket of slower time in the middle of normally-running time."

"I'm guessing you're not going to let me take these popsicles today?" Peter asked, eager to change the discussion to something he was more comfortable with. The idea that a teenage girl was in possession of powers that allowed her to slow him down at her will didn't sit well with him.

"What do you think, Peter?" she asked, laughing lightly as if he already should know the answer.

"How do you know my name?"

She smiled genuinely for the first time in their encounter, and Peter found he liked the look of it on her. "Your sister sensed what I was before she even entered the store yesterday. She warned me I might get a visit from you soon."

"That's cheating."

"That's reality," she countered amicably. "She told me you were super fast, but she didn't tell me you had grey hair."

Peter unconsciously ran a hand through his hair. "It's not grey, it's silver."

She turned her head slightly to look at him slyly. "Does that make you a silver fox?" she asked, her voice laced with a mixture of teasing and flirtation that made him confused and intrigued all at the same time.

Peter rolled his eyes, but inside he was incredibly amused by the prospect of someone being a real challenge to him. He'd just have to work harder to sneak popsicles and Hostess snacks by her in the future. "Well, would you look at the time, I really must be off," he said, pretending to look at his watch.

"I control time, Peter, I don't need to look at it," she retorted with a laugh as he left the store in a rush.

Peter returned to the basement and looked at the clock on the wall. She was right, it had been only a few seconds since he had left for the store, but talking with her felt much longer.

He grabbed the ping pong paddle and slammed the ball into the wall behind Wanda.

This was not how he saw his summer going.

Not at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** To the one guest reviewer, thank you! I wrote this one quickly for you :)

* * *

"Just relax, Peter. We're not cops," Logan said.

"Of course you're not cops," Peter replied, reclining across the couch like it was the most appropriate thing to be doing in that moment. "If you were cops, you wouldn't be driving around in a rental car."

"How do you know we've got a rental car?" Charles asks behind his large sunglasses.

"I checked your registration when you were walking through the door. I also had some time to kill, so I went through your rental agreement- saw that you're from out of town… Are you FBI?" Peter said rapidly, not caring if they could keep up with him.

Next thing they knew, Peter was standing with his back to them, going through Charles's wallet. "Oh, you're not cops… Hey, what's with this gifted youngsters place?" He sped off and let the card and wallet drop to the table.

Charles bent over to pick them up. "That's- an old card."

"Well, he's fascinating," Hank observed with delight.

"He's a pain in the ass," Charles grimaced.

Hank faced Logan. "What? a teleporter?"

Logan put his hands on his hips, trying to get a handle on the situation. "No, he's just fast." Too fast, if you asked him. "Only, when I knew him, he wasn't so… young."

"Young?" Peter said from the couch behind them. "You're just old." He was mostly finished with an orange popsicle.

"So you're not afraid to show your powers," Hank observed.

"Powers? What powers? What are you talking about?" Peter questioned. "Did you see something strange here? Nothing anyone would believe if you told them."

Peter appeared at the Pong machine across the basement. "So who are you? What do you want?"

"We need your help, Peter," Logan explained, hoping the kid would stay in one place for longer than a few seconds. They needed to have a serious conversation.

"With what?"

"Breaking into a highly-secured facility," Logan replied, "and get someone out."

"Prison break?" Peter remarked with excitement. "That's illegal, you know."

"Well, only if you get caught," Logan replied, realizing Peter had a thing for stealing in large quantities of…well, anything.

"So what's in it for me?"

"You, _you kleptomaniac_ , get to break into the Pentagon," Charles said exhaustedly as he took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was rapidly running out of patience for the kid.

That seemed to catch his attention. Peter turned around slowly. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because we're just like you," Logan said.

"Show him," Charles said to Logan.

Peter inhaled slowly as claws emerged from Logan's fist. When it was all done, Peter responded, "It's cool, but it's disgusting."

"Right, so we need to go over the plan and you need to pay attention," Charles said finally, pointing an annoyed finger in Peter's direction.

"I don't need to do anything, actually," Peter remarked, across the room once more on the couch, flipping through a magazine.

Charles turned to Logan. "Can you do something to make him stop darting around like this? I can't focus on anything."

Logan sighed. "Where's Holly?" he asked Peter hopefully.

Peter scrunched his face up in confusion. "Holly? Who's Holly?" he asked, beginning to rapid-fire questions once again, mostly just to annoy Charles. "Is she your daughter? Is she hot? Can I meet her?"

"How would this Holly girl help us out?" Charles asked Logan, ignoring Peter's sudden interest in anything they were saying. He forgot how hormonal teenage boys could be sometimes.

Logan leaned in closer to Charles. "When I knew her, she had this ability to speed up time around me and slow down time around Peter so that we could have a normal conversation without him feeling the need to fly about the place. It worked when he was older and more…tame, but it might help now, if she can do it, that is."

Charles raised his eyebrows and grinned at the first piece of good news he'd had during this encounter. They all turned to Peter who was sitting on the couch with a sour expression on his face that told them everything.

He heard what Logan said.

He knew Holly Hamilton.

The concept was enough to make Logan chuckle loudly. "She has a grip on her powers, doesn't she, Peter?" he teased.

Peter grimaced. "I don't want to talk about it. I don't need her, I can be normal."

Charles raised an eyebrow at his rushed assurances. "I _highly_ doubt that." He put his sunglasses back on. "Take us to her."

Peter sighed petulantly. "But it'll take _forever_ for you guys to get there!"

"Stop complaining," Charles grumbled. "Either you bring her here now, or you'll go _our_ speed with us to get her."

Peter stood up and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "She's not going to come with me," he said in a lower volume as if he was suddenly bashful.

Logan rolled his eyes fondly at the kid. "Here's a trick I learned from you when you're both older: breaking her concentration momentarily stops her powers from working."

"How am I going to do that?" Peter almost whined. It was all unfair. All he wanted to do was break into the Pentagon, not deal with _her_ again. Not so soon anyways. "She practically watches me like a hawk."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Logan replied knowingly. "She _is_ a very pretty girl, after all."

Peter scowled at them one last time before disappearing.

Two seconds later, he reappeared, Holly Hamilton sulking petulantly in his arms as he smirked smugly between the men and the girl.

"Oh, shut up, Peter," she shrieked in annoyance and wriggled until he let her stand on her own. She aimed her glare at the men. "Whosever idea that was, I swear, I will make you regret it one day," she threatened in a low tone. "I was thoroughly enjoying my Thursday afternoon. I had the radio on, I had a magazine open, and I had my bubblegum in my mouth. There had better be a good reason for this."

"Well, actually, you should thank me for saving you from that awful racket you had on," Peter replied smugly. "Your taste in music sucks."

Holly's mouth dropped open indignantly. "Excuse me?"

Charles turned to Logan; he had had enough of teenagers for the day. "Your solution to Speedy Gonzalez was to bring in the prima donna, Logan? Seriously?"

Logan didn't know what to say and shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. "I thought they met each other sooner than this."

"Excuse me," Holly's shrill voice broke through their conversation. "But if _he's_ going to be wherever you want me to be, _I'm_ not doing it."

Peter snorted and rolled his eyes.

"No, you're doing it, and you don't have any say in the matter," Charles argued back. "This is not a democracy."

Holly rolled her eyes and shot Peter an annoyed look. "Do you even know what that word means, _Peter_? democracy?"

He made a face at her. "Obviously I know what the word means, _Holly._ I'm not an idiot."

"Could've fooled me."

"I don't have time for this!" Charles exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "You're both coming with us and I don't want to hear any more from the two of you on the matter."

Their replies came in unison. "Whatever."

Moments later, Hank, Peter, and Holly were sitting in the back seat of the car. Logan was driving and Charles was talking at them from the passenger seat. "Now, this is a twenty minute car ride. I expect that you two work out your problems in the meantime because I want full cooperation by the time we arrive at the Pentagon."

Holly made a noise in the back of her throat. "How are we supposed to do that in the space of twenty minutes? I can't stand him."

"You're no walk in the park either, darling," Peter drawled.

"You stole from my grandparents for years, Peter!" she exclaimed in her shrill voice once more.

Hank awkwardly kept quiet, thankful Peter was in the middle seat.

"Enough!" Charles barked, making the two squabbling teenagers become silent. "Holly, I can't believe I have to spell it out to you, yet here I am doing so. You control time- slow it down for you two and work it out. Then, when you're both ready to move on, come back to normal time, got it?"

"Fine," she grumbled, crossing her arms and focusing on creating a slow-time zone around her and Peter.

"This will be interesting," Logan remarked lowly. He looked in the rearview mirror, hoping to savor the annoyed looks on their faces one last time, but he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

"If you two don't separate immediately, I will pull this car over and separate you myself."

Holly pulled her hands away from Peter's hair immediately, turning to look out of the window with a furious blush on her face.

Peter pulled his arms away from Holly's body at a much slower rate and leaned back into the seat with a smug, self-satisfied grin on his face.

Hank shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Do I have to be back here with them for nineteen more minutes?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I can't believe I'm posting another one today! This one is for the person who reviewed my last chapter and for the person who favorited my story. Thank you both!

* * *

"Now, this is a twenty minute car ride. I expect that you two work out your problems in the meantime because I want full cooperation by the time we arrive at the Pentagon."

Holly made a noise in the back of her throat. "How are we supposed to do that in the space of twenty minutes? I can't stand him."

"You're no walk in the park either, darling," Peter drawled.

"You stole from my grandparents for years, Peter!" she exclaimed in her shrill voice once more.

Hank awkwardly kept quiet, thankful Peter was in the middle seat.

"Enough!" Charles barked, making the two squabbling teenagers become silent. "Holly, I can't believe I have to spell it out to you, yet here I am doing so. You control time- slow it down for you two and work it out. Then, when you're both ready to move on, come back to normal time, got it?"

"Fine," she grumbled, crossing her arms and focusing on creating a slow-time zone around her and Peter.

Peter shut his eyes in preparation for the time bubble, as he liked to think of it. When nothing happened, he opened one eye cautiously.

Holly was staring at him through narrowed eyes in absolute bewilderment. "What on Earth are you doing?"

Peter opened his other eye and looked at her with both. "Have you done it? Is it done? Am I suddenly sloooooooow?"

"Oh my God, you're so annoying!" Holly exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Yes, I've done it!"

"Soooo," Peter drew the vowel out as long as he could, enjoying her increasing frustration, "I think they want you to apologize to me."

Holly laughed mirthlessly. "I think you're wrong," she said, leaning closer to him and lowering the volume of her voice so it was just a little louder than a whisper, "I think they want you to apologize to me. _I_ want you to apologize to me."

"Why would I apologize to you?" he asked absentmindedly.

"Don't pretend you don't know the answer to that question," she replied tersely, snapping his goggles against the top of his head.

"Ouch! What the Hell, handsy?" Peter slapped her hands away and rubbed the spot where the goggles snapped against his head. "How would you like it if I just attacked you out of nowhere?"

Holly's jaw dropped indignantly; her grandmother would be scandalized if she saw how much she did it whenever she wasn't around her.

"You did! back in the store!" she exclaimed, beginning to stutter in disbelief. "You attacked me! with your God damn mouth, Peter!"

"Last I checked, you enjoyed it," Peter replied complacently, smirking with the memory of her soft, pink lips pressed against his, her back against the popsicle freezer once more. "You practically swooned."

She glared at him. "I did no such thing… and then you kidnapped me."

"Correction," he interrupted what was likely to turn into a shrill tirade against his show of gentlemanliness, "I swept you up into my arms and brought you to my house. It sounds much more romantic that way."

"Romantic?" Holly repeated, trying to figure out what exactly he was getting at. "Can you be normal for, like, one minute? I know nothing about you other than a few small facts."

Peter exhaled uncomfortably. "Okay, I guess… What do you want to know?"

"Um," Holly trailed off awkwardly, "what did you do today?"

He raised his eyebrow suggestively, "Ooh, someone's getting jealous already, isn't she?" he teased, making her face turn slightly red. He wondered if he'd be able to get it to match the color of her ginger hair by the end of their discussion.

"Peter!"

"Okay, okay," he conceded jovially. "This morning, my mother woke me up earlier than normal to make me move a new refrigerator into the house, then I went back to sleep, and then I went into my basement. Then they all showed up and demanded I abduct you."

"Why didn't the delivery men bring it inside your house?"

Peter shrugged absently. "No idea, but it would've been nice not having to struggle with it myself."

"That must have been difficult," she commented lightly, hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way. He could lift her without so much as even batting an eyelash; he was obviously very strong.

"It was!" Peter exclaimed, relieved someone finally agreed with him.

 _"Peter, can't you just do it super fast?" Wanda asked, looking at the large box from over her round sunglasses._

 _"Can't you do something useful with your powers for once, Wanda?" he retorted grumpily. Any time before noon was too early to be awoken._

 _"I can make it so that you never existed, if you'd like."_

 _"Kids!" Magda Maximoff admonished her children angrily. "Wanda, take your sister inside and do something useful for once instead of bugging me when I'm busy."_

 _Wanda rolled her eyes and led Lorna inside, much to Lorna's discontent; they weren't getting along today for some reason Peter didn't know and didn't care about._

 _Magda turned to her son. "Well, I guess it's up to us to move it," she said in resignation as they grabbed the sides of the box to haul it towards the house._

 _They took a break once they brought the box inside the doorway. "You know, I once knew a guy who had the ability to move metal with his mind."_

 _"I wish you were still with him so that I didn't have to be awake right now," Peter grumbled._

"Well, I'm proud of your efforts, I guess," Holly conceded, trying to put them on amiable terms for the sake of the plan.

"Is this where I ask about your day, or can I skip that part?" Peter asked, unintentionally offending her with his careless callousness. "Wait, that came out wrong."

"No it didn't," she grimaced and turned to look out the window.

"Hey, I didn't mean it that way," Peter struggled to find the right words, "I just- I'm just not good with normal boring things."

Her silence told him that maybe _boring_ wasn't the correct choice of word.

Peter placed a hand on her shoulder and gently turned her towards him so that he was looking deep into her blue eyes. "I'm sorry for stealing from your grandparents and I'll repay them what I owe as soon as I find a way to get the money."

She was about to tell him it didn't matter because they never noticed, but he shushed her so he could continue. "I'm sorry for how I reacted to your power yesterday and I'm sorry for kissing and abducting you."

The teenagers were quiet for a moment until Holly spoke up in a quiet, shy voice. "I'll accept your apology for the first and third things only."

"Not the second?" Peter asked in confusion. She couldn't be saying what he thought she was saying, could she?

Holly grinned widely, her smile lighting up her whole face. "Not the second," she confirmed. "I liked the second."

So she _was_ saying what he thought she was saying.

She held a hand out in front of him. "But that doesn't mean you can do it whenever you want, Peter," she said, attempting to sound serious.

"Whatever you say, darling," he replied smoothly, his voice dropping as he moved his hands to her torso and pulled her closer. "I wouldn't dream of abusing the privilege of kissing you."

He pressed his lips to hers and smirked into the kiss as he felt her dainty little fingers tangle into his silver hair.

"If you two don't separate immediately, I will pull this car over and separate you myself," Logan barked, pulling the teenagers out of their embrace.

Holly pulled her hands away from Peter's hair immediately, turning to look out of the window with a furious blush on her face. She didn't realize that she had stopped using her powers and she wished she had paid more attention to it. Perhaps then, they could've had at least a few more minutes to themselves where she could make sure Peter understood he couldn't keep kissing her at his fancy.

He just couldn't… but she wasn't going to actively try to stop him either.

Peter Maximoff was a supreme kisser.

Peter pulled his arms away from Holly's body at a much slower rate and leaned back into the seat with a smug, self-satisfied grin on his face.

Hank shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Do I have to be back here with them for nineteen more minutes?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Can you turn on the radio or something?" Holly whined after five minutes of uncomfortable silence on the part of the adults and barely-restrained sexual tension on the part of the teenagers. She needed to focus on something to stop herself from looking over at Peter and his stupid smug face.

"No, I cannot," Charles grumbled, still not thrilled with how his suggestion panned out. He needed them to focus and stop arguing with each other long enough to learn the plan. Them kissing was definitely not conducive to their paying attention. "I need you two to focus on what the plan is so you don't muck it up at the last moment. This needs to be executed flawlessly."

"Peter, your mission is to break Magneto out of his cell below the gazebo and meet us in the kitchen," Logan instructed Peter, knowing Peter would listen more to him than to Charles. "Holly, we need you to go through all of the places we'll be escaping and speed up time to make the evacuation much faster than it normally would be."

"Why does Peter get to do the cool things?" Holly complained, her lip pouting slightly. Peter wished they were alone in that moment so he could tell her just how sexy he thought that pout of hers really was. "I'm just a glorified human-wrangler."

"You're a woman, isn't that what they all do?" Peter remarked offhandedly.

Logan snorted. "You'll regret saying that one day, kid. Mark my words."

Peter looked into the rearview mirror to meet Logan's eyes. "I doubt it."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, speedy," Holly threatened darkly under her voice.

"I didn't mean it offensively," he said, trying to make up for his momentary lapse of judgment, but it was too late- she was already angling herself away from him to look out the window more intensely than before. "Whatever."

Ten minutes later, Logan parked the car in a mall parking lot and turned around in his seat to face Holly.

"Are you sure you know what the Pentagon looks like, man?"

Logan ignored Peter and addressed Holly solely. "You have one minute to get into that mall and make yourself look like you actually work for the Department of Defense… and not like some overpaid secretary. If you're going to play the part of a high-ranking security official, you actually need to look the part."

"But I just got my hair done!" Holly sulkily replied. "I don't want to have to ruin it so that I can look like some underpaid civil servant."

"And if I see one ounce of 1973 teenager in your appearance, you will regret it," Charles added in annoyance. "Not hurry up, we don't have much time."

Holly laughed and opened the car door to get out. "Correction: I have all the time in the world," she replied, slowing time down around her as she walked into the mall, armed with Charles's money. This was going to be fun.

Once Holly got out of the car, Peter slid into her seat to give Hank some room. "Well, she's much nicer than I originally gave her credit for," he stated, watching her walk into the mall.

Logan reached behind him to smack the kid upside the head.

"Ouch! What was that about, man?" Peter exclaimed, rubbing his head. "It's not like she's your daughter or anything."

"No, but she's your," Logan stopped talking, realizing it was still 1973. Holly was still Peter's nothing.

"She's my what?" Peter inquired, sliding to the edge of the seat to get closer to Logan. Logan turned around to look out the windshield. Peter looked over at Charles. "What is she to me? She's definitely not my mother or my sister, and I'm _really_ hoping she isn't my cousin because… well, that'd be disgusting after what I just did to her."

Charles gaped at him disturbed by what he was saying. "She's not your cousin, you moron. Now, can you please sit still and be quiet for thirty more seconds?"

Before Peter could open his mouth to offer up some snarky remark, the car door opened and they all looked over to see Holly in her new outfit.

Instead of her usual sleeveless top, bellbottom jeans, and chunky wedges, Holly stood before them in a form-fitting white suit jacket with a matching, flowing skirt, and white heels. Her long, feathered ginger hair was pulled back into a respectable half-up style, and she had removed her eyeliner so that her face was clean and mature-looking.

Peter tried to hide the look of astonishment on his face as she slid into the car, pushing him back to the middle seat.

"You look nice," Logan remarked, starting the car up and getting back on the road.

Charles turned around to nod at her. "Thank you for listening to me."

"Here's your money," Holly said, handing the remaining money back to him. "I would say I didn't do too much damage, but, well… I'm seventeen."

Charles grimaced and turned back towards the front of the car, trying not to think about how much he dreaded counting the remaining bills in his hands. He stuffed them into his pocket, deciding to save it for later when she wasn't in earshot.

Holly felt Peter's eyes boring holes into her legs. "Is there a reason you're staring at me?" she asked in her most dignified voice.

Peter leaned close to her so he could whisper in her ear. "If you slow time, I'll let you find out."

She shot him a look at his suggestion. "Could you not for, like, five minutes? We're about to break into the Pentagon to break some guy out!"

"If he's a mutant, why can't he break himself out?" Peter asked, wondering why it required a car of five mutants to do this.

Hank cleared his throat. "He's being kept in a metal-less cell that's heavily guarded."

"So, basically, he's in a padded room?" Holly asked, trying to clarify exactly what kind of mutant Peter would come into contact with. She would never admit it, but she was a little nervous for him.

"He can control metal, so, yeah, it's like a padded room for him," Hank replied.

As Holly continued interrogating Hank about the guy they were about to rescue, only Logan and Charles noticed the thoughtful look that came over Peter's face until they arrived at the Pentagon and went their separate ways.

Holly and Peter stood in the bushes by the staff entrance to the Pentagon. "I need an ID badge," she murmured, observing a woman flash her badge at the security guard.

"Here," Peter said, handing one to her. Holly shot him a look and he shrugged his shoulders. "I came to that conclusion before you did, so I solved the problem. You should also take these." He handed her an official looking clipboard and documents. "It'll make you much more convincing."

Holly agreed with him. "I'll meet you in there, I guess," she said slowly, feeling slightly anxious with everything she was about to do, even if it was the easiest of tasks compared to the rest of them.

Peter pulled her into his body and wrapped his arms around her. "You'll be fine as long as you don't panic." He pulled back to look into her eyes gently. "Remember, panicking is the worst thing you can do."

"I'll try my best," Holly replied quietly, running her hands down his jacket. "Promise me you'll be careful, Peter."

"I promise," he replied, snapping his goggles onto his eyes. "Now, hurry up."

Holly straightened her outfit and walked towards the entrance with an authoritative step. The picture-less identification card got her through security easily, and one look at the crude map Peter had drawn her on the clipboard documents told her how to get to the kitchen rendezvous point.

Under the map was a little note left for her.

 _P.S. You look sexy in that skirt._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed! I appreciate it more than you know and it made me write this chapter tonight :)

For the guest reviewer with all the amazing speculation, thank you! I got a lot of ideas from your questions. I was already planning on addressing her past, her parents, and how her powers became so developed in future chapters, but I definitely got to thinking about them a lot more. As for the enemy speculation, I'm honestly unsure where they'll end up in the way way future. I'm waiting to see what the newest movie holds, so I've got 17 more days until it's out in my country. After that, I think I'll know more about where they'll end up, but ultimately, they'll end up happy and together because I'm a twentysomething sap and I can't help myself sometimes. We'll definitely be learning what Logan was going to say with the whole "She's your-" thing, so don't worry :)

* * *

"Everyone, can I have your attention please?" Holly called out authoritatively. The kitchen staff gave her their attention. She nodded at them curtly. "We will shortly be conducting an unannounced security drill. Your efficient and orderly evacuation will be timed for analysis."

She surveyed the chefs through narrowed eyes. "Anyone failing to comply will be immediately reported to the Department of Defense head of staff after the drill is completed."

Holly held up the clipboard. "I will be taking notes on your actions which will aid in analysis, so I expect you all will make your country proud. You may go back to work until the drill begins."

Taking a deep breath, Holly walked over to the guards standing on either side of the elevator who motioned for her to go to them.

"Our orders are to report directly to the head of the Department of Defense," one of the guards stated. "As such, you have no authority over our movements."

Holly nodded curtly. "I am aware of that, and I was instructed to not mind you two. This drill is primarily for the benefit of the staff in the event of an emergency."

Holly turned back toward the kitchen. That was the moment the alarm went off and the sprinklers began to spray water everywhere.

She brought out her clipboard, feeling silly that the paper she was going to have to pretend to write on was soaking wet. She walked to the other end of the kitchen, opposite from the guards, and began to focus on speeding up the time in the halls they were about to escape through. She had already told the security guards in the staff entrance that they were about to conduct a drill and to evacuate staff as quickly as possible, but she couldn't be sure she got to everyone. All she could do was hope that she sped up time in the right direction. Either people would be going away from the kitchen faster, or they would be coming to the kitchen faster.

As Holly pretended to write once more, Logan and Charles entered the kitchen, Charles beginning to command the remaining stragglers that Holly couldn't get ahold of yet. Her time-manipulation was only in effect in the halls, not the kitchen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," Charles shouted, "this is a code red situation."

As he and Logan approached the elevator, the guards walked towards them. "We are evacuating the entire floor, so that my- uh- associate and I can- uh, secure the prisoner."

Holly remained in the background, not wanting to draw any attention to herself and interfere with the situation. Her concentration was still on the hallway. Doing a time-manipulation from this far away wasn't something she was used to doing, and she found it was a physical and mental struggle to retain it for much longer. She shut her eyes to block out any distracting visual stimuli.

"Who are you?" she heard the guard she had been talking to ask Charles.

"We are…Special Operations CBFBCID," Charles struggled. "Look, perhaps you didn't hear me when first I spoke. It's imperative that you understand we are in complete lockdown situation. We have to get you to the third floor," Charles was cut off by the sound of a metallic banging and bodies dropping to the floor.

Holly opened her eyes, satisfied that everyone was evacuated by now. They had had more than enough time to get out of their escape path.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you finished?" Logan asked Charles mockingly.

As Charles fished around for the key to unlock the elevator shaft, Holly walked towards them. "I think I have sufficiently cleared the halls."

"Good," Logan replied.

"Sorry," Charles said, turning the key in the lock, "I'm just not very good with violence."

The elevator door opened, revealing a man, who she now knew was named Erik, Peter, and a duct-taped security guard.

Before Holly could say anything to Peter, Erik spotted Charles as if he was the last person he'd expect to see at his prison break.

Charles punched Erik so hard in the mouth that Erik dropped to the ground and Charles ran into the back of the elevator from the momentum.

"Good to see you too, old friend," Erik remarked, getting off the ground, "and walking."

"No thanks to you," Charles muttered disgustedly.

"You're the last person in the world I expected to see today," Erik replied, squaring himself against Charles.

"Believe me," Charles responded, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to. If we get you out of here, we do it my way- no killing."

"No helmet," Erik said lightly, gesturing to his head, "I couldn't disobey you even if I wanted."

Holly wanted to laugh at the look Peter shot the taped-up security guard.

"I am never getting inside of that head again… I need your word, Erik."

Erik nodded his assent.

At that moment, the hallway door bursts open, revealing a group of officers with guns. "Nobody move!"

Holly froze in her place, eyes wide with horror. The worst had happened; her time-manipulation had in fact sped up the arrival of armed security guards.

"Hold it right there!"

She wanted to use her power to stop them, but her heart was racing and her vision was clouding over and she knew she'd never be able to do anything to time in her panicked and fatigued state. She was useless.

"Hands up, or we will shoot!"

"Charles?" Erik prompted. "Freeze them, Charles."

"I can't."

"Holly?" Logan asked hopefully.

Holly turned her head to face him with her terrified, wide eyes and shook her head. She couldn't do anything either.

The metal in the room began shaking and launched into the air and Charles yelled, "No!"

Peter saw each droplet of water falling, each gun discharge. If anyone could get them out of this situation, it would be him.

His mother told him once, when he was younger, that he couldn't just run over furniture and up walls, but here he was, doing just that, and kicking ass as a result. Did his borderline authority complex have any role in how he dealt with the security guards? Probably, but that was another concern for another time.

He looked over at the mutants. Could he call them his friends? He decided he could, he didn't have that many friends anyways.

Seeing that Holly was in the line of the bullets, he pulled her to him with one arm and moved the bullets out of the line of Charles and Erik. Deciding he had created enough havoc and adverted enough disasters at the same time, he went to the other side of the kitchen, holding Holly's body to his tightly so she didn't fall over when he stopped moving so quickly.

Everything exploded and fell around the kitchen, creating a mighty clamor. Holly gasped and her legs went weak as she almost fell to the ground, but she was held upright by Peter.

She looked up at him thankfully. "I'd say thank you, but I'm not quite sure what you did," she said breathily, regaining her balance and composure. She backed away from Peter and tried to adjust the skirt suit she had on, but it was to no avail; it didn't sit right on her now that it was soaking wet.

"Don't worry about it, darling," Peter replied with a grin, removing the headphones from his ears. "One of us has to be able to use their powers in times of crisis."

As Holly tested out her power on herself, Charles exited the kitchen, nodding thanks at Peter on his way out, followed by Erik who did all he could to avoid making eye contact with the teenager. Logan was the last to leave of the adults, clapping Peter's shoulder. "Thanks, kid."

Peter interrupted her concentration by throwing his arm around her shoulder. "Why don't you give it a rest for a while? We don't want you getting worn out, do we?"

Holly laughed lightly at his concern. "No, I guess not," she agreed. She looked up at him. "I really do appreciate what you did here. You saved my life and I'm sure countless others. It was really brave of you," she said quietly as if she were embarrassed to be that honest with him.

He smirked down at her, but it wasn't his usual smug one; it was more like a prideful smirk of a job well-done and a pretty girl very-impressed. "Do I get a kiss for being brave and saving you and countless others?" he asked cheekily.

How could she say no to that face? "Of course you do," Holly laughed, pulling herself to him by his jacket lapels and pressing her lips against his.

Peter wrapped his other arm around her back and slid his hand down to her waist, pulling her closer to him so that their chests touched, but she broke the kiss before it got any deeper. He looked at her questioningly.

"I'm soaking wet and it's getting cold," she apologized sheepishly. "I really want to change back into my normal, dry clothing."

"Why?" Peter asked, following her out of the kitchen and down the halls. "I'm enjoying you in a see-through wet white suit."


	6. Chapter 6

Peter adjusted the rearview mirror and buckled his seatbelt. "You know, I could just not return the car for a few days. They'll be in Paris, so it's not like they would notice," he mused offhandedly with a sly look creeping up onto his face.

Holly buckled herself in and poked his dimple teasingly. "You could, but would you actually do that to your new friends?"

Peter started the car and began to drive away at a normal speed, much to Holly's surprise. "Nah, I hate driving," he stated. "It's soooo slow."

Holly laughed at his response and leaned back into the seat, thankful to be in her own clothing once more, even if Peter preferred her wet see-through skirt suit. "So, where are you taking me?"

"I was thinking we could stop at a diner on the way back to your house," Peter suggested, looking over at her briefly. He smiled gently at the way her ginger hair glowed in the setting summer sun.

"My house?" she laughed carelessly. "Who said I'll tell you were I live?"

"Who says you need to tell me where you live?" Peter retorted with a smirk. "I own a phonebook. All I had to do was look up who owned Hamilton's Corner Store, and then look up their address in the phone book. Simple."

Holy rolled her eyes; of _course_ he had stalked her already. "That's somewhat creepy, Peter. You don't even know my favorite color."

"No, it's smart," he corrected her amusedly. "Besides, I do know it, it's pink, obviously."

She looked at him indignantly. "How could you possibly know that?"

It was Peter's turn to roll his eyes. "Your _entire_ bedroom is covered in that color."

Before she could erupt into a slew of indignant admonishments at his intrusion into her privacy, he parked the car in front of a diner. Before she could open her door, he was already doing it for her and helping her out of the car.

He led her into the diner and she followed him with a sour expression, still trying to decide how much she cared about him seeing her room. Was she in it when he saw it? If she was, what on Earth could he have seen? The concept was potentially disturbing and thrilling at the same time.

"Give me a second, I've got to use the phone," she told Peter, leaving him at the table and going over to the phone hanging on the wall near the restrooms.

She dialed her grandparents' home number and waited until her grandmother picked up. "Hi, grandma, it's me," she said pleasantly into the phone. "I just wanted to apologize for leaving the store early this afternoon."

She gritted her teeth as she waited for the response, knowing her grandmother could react one of two ways.

"Don't worry about it, your grandfather was in the store supply room and took over for you," her grandmother replied in a good mood.

Holly let out the breath she had been holding and smiled with relief. "Tell him I say thank you. I'll be home by curfew, I promise."

"I know you will, just have a good time and we'll catch up when you come home tonight."

Holly hung up the phone and returned to the table where Peter was waiting for her with two strawberry milkshakes. "I took the liberty of ordering for you."

She sat opposite him and took a long sip of the sweet drink from the long straw. "I love strawberry, thank you."

He grinned back at her and fiddled with the menus on the table idly as he waited for her to finish her milkshake since he had finished his immediately once she had sat down. "So, you mentioned something about wanting to get to know me?"

"I did," she confirmed, thinking about what to ask him. "Oh, I know. What's it like when you have to do things at normal human speed?"

He groaned and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "More frustrating than you could ever know because everything takes so long to do and I could just get so much more done if I was at my natural speed. It's like waiting in line to use a Pong machine at the arcade and the person in front of you doesn't know how to put in their coins or operate the game. It's a nightmare."

She laughed at his analogy. "I'm fairly certain I saw a Pong machine in your basement, Peter. I don't think you've ever had to wait in those lines."

He shrugged his shoulders casually. She was right, of course. "I have a question for you."

"Shoot," Holly said, pausing to take a long sip of her milkshake and ignoring the fact that Peter was watching her as she did so.

He leaned across the table and lowered his voice. "How did you get so good at controlling time? I mean, running fast is easy, but I can imagine time control isn't the same."

She laughed sheepishly and blushed slightly. "Actually, it's an embarrassing and boring story."

"Well, now you have to tell me."

Holly took a deep breath and looked down at the table, not wanting to see his reaction when he found out how boring it actually was.

"When I was twelve, I had to take this really long math test. I knew what to do, it's just that I was sitting next to this boy, Kevin Winston, and I thought he was cute."

Peter snickered and she shot him a silencing look before continuing. "Anyways, I guess I drifted off daydreaming," she was cut off again.

"What do twelve year old girls daydream about?" Peter asked with a laugh. "Ponies and rainbows?"

"Shut up," she responded curtly, but she found his remark funny nonetheless. " _Anyways_ , I snapped out of the daydream and looked back at the clock and realized there was two minutes until the test was over and I had three pages of problems still to do. All I remember was staring at the clock and begging it in my mind to just break and give me more time… And then, it just did. Like, it stopped moving completely. I don't know what I thought it was that did it, but I got back to my test and began furiously working. It was only when I put my pencil down that the alarm went off and the test ended."

"So, that's when you knew?" Peter asked, intrigued.

Holly laughed and shook her head. "No, it took me a while to figure it out. For a few years, I was able to tell my alarm clock to give me a lot more time to snooze than just five minutes, but no matter how many more hours of sleep I got, it was always just five more minutes of sleep," she explained. "I figured out that I could slow down time for certain when I was fourteen, and after using it to gain more time asleep and in tests for years, I guess I got better at it."

"What about speeding up time?"

"Sitting through boring class lectures," she replied simply. "Haven't you ever wished time could just fly by when you're in those? Well, for me, it literally did."

"So basically," Peter said, leaning back into his seat, "you got practice with your powers from sleeping in, cheating on tests, and not paying attention in lectures."

"Basically," Holly said, popping the cherry into her mouth once she took the last sip of her milkshake.

"I don't know whether to be impressed with or confused by you," Peter confessed, throwing down the money to pay for the drinks on the table and standing up to leave, "but I do know I like it all the same."

Holly laughed and left the diner with him, feeling the exact same way.

They were on the road again and Holly began to recognize some of the streets they were on. She figured there was maybe ten more minutes until they arrived at her house.

"I'd ask you if you've always lived in Arlington, I have never seen you around before," Peter said, his eyes on the road.

"I mean, technically, I've lived here my entire life with my grandparents," she began, "but I've actually spent most of my time in California."

That made him look at her with surprise. "California?"

She smiled, remembering the feel of the warm California air on her skin, the fresh sea breeze blowing through her hair. "I used to go to a private boarding school there for students ages five to eighteen. And it's California, so obviously I stayed there every school break because of the sea and warm weather."

"What brought you home to good old Virginia this time?" Peter asked.

She was silent for a moment as she thought about how to answer him without making it awkward. "I'm having such a good day today, Peter, and I don't really want to get into that yet. I haven't told my grandparents why I'm home yet."

He placed his hand on her thigh and smiled kindly at her, the first kind smile she had ever received from him. "You can tell me another day."

She smiled back at him and looked out the window as he moved his hand back to the steering wheel. "Oh, this is it," she let him know, directing him to pull into the driveway.

He parked the car. "Will you be in the store tomorrow?"

"If you're planning on stealing from it, you shouldn't tell me when you're going to do it," she replied with a laugh. "But no, I actually have plans tomorrow."

"What plans? I like plans. Maybe I'll show up and ruin your plans tomorrow," Peter said speedily, earning another laugh.

"A lady has to have her secrets," she replied with a large grin. "I have to go in now, but I'll see you around soon, speedy."

She leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth gently before smiling at him and getting out of the car.

Peter waved at her and drove away from her house, smiling giddily to himself the entire way to the rental car store.

He'd definitely see her tomorrow, plans be damned.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, favorited, and followed! I'd just like to say that I mention three songs in the chapter and that you should look them up when you come across them in the chapter because they make it so much better (at least it does for me- I find it funny when I read and listen together). If you do, let me know how it works and if it makes it funnier for you, I'd like to know :)

* * *

Peter couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was no realm of reality where this could be happening, yet here it was. He took another clandestine glance through her window, thankful for the cover the tree he was perched in provided.

He wanted to get to know better, and while he normally would get to know people by going through their belongings, Peter felt that Holly wouldn't appreciate the sentiment. So, here he was, doing the next best thing by spying on her to learn what her plans for today were. It kept him up half the night trying to figure out who she could possibly know well enough in the town to have plans with already. A dark part of his mind kept suggesting that he wasn't the only guy to have noticed how heavenly and fiery she was.

Holly's bedroom window was wide open, letting the warm late-morning summer air in. The house telephone was right outside her bedroom (he couldn't help himself from breaking into the house earlier, but he definitely left her room alone), so if he stayed quiet enough, he just might hear where she intended to go today, assuming she'd call or be called about her plans.

Considering she was a social seventies teen, he felt like awaiting a call was his best bet; girls loved the telephone.

Peter expected to hear the telephone call and see her get ready for her plans. He _certainly_ did not expect to see his disco princess lip-syncing to Janis Joplin into her hair brush as she watched herself in the mirror perform like she was singing to an adoring crowd at Woodstock.

Holly whipped her head to the side as she passionately lip-synced to "Piece of My Heart," letting herself get lost in the raw emotion of the song. Her grandparents were currently at their store, leaving her with free reign over the house, and she used this time to frolic through her bedroom, pretending that she was some sixties hippie goddess.

It seemed silly, if she were to actually think about herself jumping onto her bed to sing the chorus, but she didn't care- it felt amazing to just let loose once in a while. Besides, there was nothing quite like the sounds of Woodstock to really make you dance.

Peter closed his mouth once he realized he was gaping. Who knew she had it in her? He got an idea, a way to impress her without pressing her up something and kissing her senseless. His mother told him girls appreciate large displays of affection, and that was what he intended to do.

He climbed down from the tree and took off running in a northern direction.

One hour later, Holly knocked on the door and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. Moments later, Wanda Maximoff let her into the house.

"Ignore my mother and her miserable taste in music," Wanda muttered darkly, leading Holly into the kitchen.

"Hi, Ms. Maximoff," Holly greeted brightly, "my name's Holly Hamilton. My grandparents own the Corner Store down the road."

Pausing from her mopping the floor in time to the beat of "Copacabana," Ms. Maximoff smiled at the new girl knowingly. "Hi dear, I've heard so much about you from the twins."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Mom, where are the lawn chairs? We want to tan in the backyard."

"They're on the lawn already," M. Maximoff replied, begging to mop again. "Oh, before you go out, do you know where your brother's gotten off to now? I haven't been able to find him and I've looked everywhere."

Wanda shrugged. "Not a clue," she replied, leading Holly out of the door in the kitchen to the backyard. They walked over the lawn and stopped in front of the two lawn chairs.

"Your mom seems nice," Holly commented, looking over the new magazines Ms. Maximoff had laid out on the chairs for the girls.

"She doesn't want to scare you away," Wanda remarked, removing the clothes that were over her magenta bikini. "We don't get a lot of people over the house who aren't in law enforcement and after Peter for stealing something."

Holly laughed, trying to picture how Peter would deal with the police with his authority complex. "I imagine that has to be funny," she replied, removing her own clothing that she wore over her polka dot bikini. She sat down next to Wanda.

Wanda snorted in amusement as she peered at Holly over the rim of her sunglasses. "You do realize you're wearing a yellow bikini, right?"

Holly opened a magazine and blew a bubble with her gum. "So?"

Wanda snickered and grabbed a magazine too. "All I'm saying is that Peter will definitely have something to say about your little yellow polkadot bikini."

"Why wouldn't he have something to say about my bikini?" Holly retorted, scanning her eyes over an article about waxing. "I wore it specifically to get a rise out of him. It looks great on me."

"Ew, could you not?" Wanda interrupted sourly. "I mean, I'm thrilled you've found a love interest," she was cut off by Holly making a startled noise in the back of her throat.

"He's not a love interest," Holly interrupted hastily. "I just like seeing him struggle to impress me."

Wanda raised her eyebrows and laughed. "Struggle to impress you? Holly, he told us all about your sordid kiss in the car."

"He did what?" Holly exclaimed in utter mortification.

"Relax," she replied flippantly. "I was mocking him last night about his poor track record with girls and your attractive looks, and well… he just kind of blurted it out."

"Oh, my God, I am going to _kill_ him," Holly muttered.

"Kill who? Can I help? I can bury the body for you," Peter said quickly, appearing in front of the girls.

"Mom was looking for you, moron," Wanda replied in a bored tone, not bothering to look up from whatever she was reading. Him randomly appearing in front of her hadn't startled her since she was a child.

"Whatever, I'm sure it can wait," Peter said, dismissing her. He turned towards Holly and ran his eyes over her body. "Interesting choice of bikini, Holls."

Holly closed her eyes in annoyance. "My name is Holly."

"Has anyone ever called you Holls before?" he asked, trying to push all of her buttons.

"Not twice."

Peter chuckled and passed a paper bag to her. "I got this for you."

Holly took the bag and looked inside. "A flower crown?" she asked, taking out the purple and white flower crown inside. She placed it on her head.

"A flower crown for the disco princess who secretly loves Woodstock," he replied lightly, as if he hadn't just revealed himself.

Holly's eyes widened in horror. "You didn't."

Peter only smirked smugly in response. "Anyways, gotta fly, but it was a nice chat," he said quickly. "But that really is a _fantastic_ bikini, Holls."

In a blink of an eye, he was gone.

"I told you he'd have something to say about it," Wanda muttered. "What's the deal with the Woodstock crown?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Holly said, mortified even further.

All of a sudden, drifting through the windows of the house, came the sound of music.

One song in particular.

"I am going to murder your brother," Holly yelled indignantly, jumping out of her chair and walking towards the house with an angry look on her face.

"Maybe you should put something over your itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie yellow polkadot bikini before you murder him?" Wanda yelled to her new friend, laughing harder than she had in a while.

"Shut up!" Holly yelled back. She threw the kitchen door open, seeing Peter leaning back in a chair with his feet on the table, an orange popsicle in his mouth. "Turn it off right now."

"Why would I do that?" Peter replied casually. "It's a song all about your bikini. It's perfect."

"You're the worst."

Peter shrugged. "Maybe, but you're attracted to me, so what does that say about you?"

Holly pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. "I must have bad taste," she snapped in annoyance.

"Yet you keep coming back to me, darling," he chuckled.

Holly turned around and stalked angrily out to the lawn chairs, sitting down in a huff.

"How did that go?" Wanda asked in amusement.

"I don't want to talk about it," Holly replied tersely as a new song drifted out through the house.

 _Come and Get Your Love_ by Redbone.

Wanda had to give it to her brother, apparently he _did_ actually know how to pick up attractive girls, after all.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hello, everyone! I would like to apologize for the long wait. As I have stated on my profile (where you should always check for current updates and when I'll be updating), I had a lot of exams in the month of May, so I wasn't able to write at all. Also, I wanted to wait for the newest movie to be released in America, because I didn't want to spoil it for anyone. I have seen it, and it is amazing. This chapter contains no spoilers, and when I begin to address things from Apocalypse, I will put a warning before the chapter just in case anyone hasn't seen it. With that said, I have the remainder of my exams in the beginning of June, so I will try to post as much as I can this week to make up for the lack of updates. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed/followed/liked!

* * *

 _"Diplomats from all around the world are arriving here today at the Hotel Royale," the reporter stated. "It's an historic day as the official ending of the United States's military involvement in Vietnam. Here is the South Vietnamese foreign minister with other South Vietnamese dignitaries…"_

"Holly, your grandma tells me that you've been hanging around the Maximoff household lately."

Holly's spine stiffened slightly at her grandfather's casual remark. The three of them were reclined on the couch as they watched the evening news as they did every night after dinner.

"The twins are my age and I really enjoy spending time with Wanda," she replied evenly, trying not to arouse suspicion by not mentioning Peter. Her grandparents had never given her "the talk" about love, sex, and other things she didn't want to discuss with them, so she wanted to keep it that way.

"Ramona Ryland, who lives next door to the the Maximoffs told me this afternoon that Peter was creating quite the nuisance by playing very loud, very suggestive music, which seemed to get a rise out of you, Holly," her grandmother added, not bothering to look up from her knitting.

Holly felt her face blush and she focused on the television intently, trying to come up with any response to get her out of the situation.

Fortunately for her, she didn't need to.

"What in the name of God?" her grandfather exclaimed, turning up the television's volume.

A woman, if she counted as one on account of her blue, scaly skin, fell from the window of the building. As she stood and looked around her, she focused on a member of the public and morphed into her.

"What is this?" Holly asked, moving to the floor to sit closer to the television. She looked at her grandfather quickly. "I don't understand."

"Shh," he replied, staring at the television as a man levitated to the ground and pulled the woman to him as if she were attached to some kind of invisible rope.

"Oh, my God," Holly whispered in horror as she recognized him as none other than Erik Lensherr, the man whose prison break she assisted. Was Peter watching this?

"There's another one!" her grandmother observed in shock as a large blue hairy man jumped on top of Erik and they began to struggle.

Before Holly could see who won, the television turned off. She spun around to her grandfather to protest, but he had a serious look on his face that told her to be silent.

"Holly, we need to have a serious discussion with you."

She raised her eyebrows and motioned to the television. "Did you not see what was happening in Paris? You have to turn it back on!"

He shook his head solemnly. "This is more important."

"Holly, just listen to him, sweetie," her grandmother added gently. "It has to do with what was on the television."

Holly took a deep breath and sat down next to her grandfather.

He took her hand into his and looked to his wife for reassurance before speaking again. "Holly, remember when you were young, you used to ask why you have orange hair while we had black hair?"

She nodded slowly, unsure of where this was going. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Holly, promise me that you'll let us explain everything before reacting to it?"

Holly promised her grandmother she would try her best.

"Right," her grandfather began gruffly, clearly uncomfortable at having to finally face the matter, "about two years after your grandmother and I married, the doctors informed us that, despite all of our attempts to have a child, we never would. A year after that, we adopted this sweet young girl from an orphanage in New York. Her mother was a deadbeat and couldn't even be bothered to give her a proper name, so we named her Lacy."

"Lacy was a very special girl growing up and we could see that she was different from her peers," her grandmother continued, taking over from her husband. "She didn't get along well at school and had no friends or confidants, but she didn't seem to mind too much, though. Unfortunately, that changed when she turned thirteen and she began to become reclusive and moody."

"Like all thirteen year old girls do," Holly interrupted, earning a sharp look from her grandmother. "Sorry, continue."

"It was different. Anyways, this reclusiveness continued until she turned seventeen, when we finally found out about her _ability_."

Holly's blood ran cold and her vision became somewhat blurry as her heart began to race. "Her _what_?"

"Sweetie, those people you saw on television earlier are called mutants, and your mother is one of them," her grandmother replied gently. "It's genetic, so there is a large possibility that you have the mutated gene as well."

"What happened to Lack, I mean," Holly broke off, uncomfortable by the conversation but knowing she had to continue with it, "my mother?"

Her grandfather shifted uneasily in his seat. "She ran off after we found out. She didn't even give us a chance to tell her we didn't care that she was a little bit different than us. All we ever wanted was a child to love. She didn't realize that we would love her despite her differences."

"A few years after she ran off, she left you at our doorstep with a note saying that she'd come back for you when your powers manifested," her grandfather continued, his tone darkening in a way Holly had never heard before. "She explained how she was with this new group of mutants that were rumored to be using their abilities for bad things. Your grandmother and I couldn't have you in danger, so we began to send you to California once you were old enough, knowing that was the last place Lacy would look for you."

"Sweetie, you would tell us if your abilities have manifested yet, wouldn't you?" her grandmother asked her. "We just want to protect you, but if they have, and you think it best to remain here in Arlington, we'll trust your word."

Well, this was it, Holly thought.

"We won't judge you for your abilities, Holly," her grandfather added.

"I'm not worried about you judging my abilities, grandma and grandpa," Holly finally said, deciding to just come out with everything in one go. "I'm worried about something else that's far worse."

She took a deep breath and stared intently at the floor. "I don't have a choice about staying in Arlington to finish school… I was expelled from school for being a mutant."

The silence in the room was deafening as she waited for her grandparents to respond to her admission of guilt.

"How did this happen?" her grandfather finally inquired.

"During the last biology lab, we visited this high-tech gene-sequencing lab that had been looking at our genetics all year long," Holly explained, trying not to think about it in too much depth. "Unfortunately, I didn't know my abilities were because of my genetics, and, well, once the school found out I was different, they expelled me to protect the other students."

Holly felt a warm hand on her forearm as her grandfather comforted her. "We don't need them anyways, sweetie. You're welcome to stay here and finish school in Arlington, if you so choose."

Holly nodded, thankful they took it so well. Perhaps if she had told them in another context, one where they weren't in such an accepting mood, it wouldn't have gone like this.

"Where is Lacy now?" she wondered.

"Who knows," her grandmother replied, "but you'd be best not to look for her; she's nothing but danger."

Holly smiled reassuringly at her grandma. "I don't want anything to do with my mother. As far as I'm concerned, you two are all I need."

An hour later, Holly lay in bed, staring out the window, as she listened to the gentle breeze sway the leaves of the large tree in her yard. She was thankful both that she had avoided "the talk" but also that she had finally come clean with her grandparents and that they had come clean to her.

While the news about her mother certainly clarified a few things, such as her hair color and her abilities, it didn't really change anything for her.

She was still the same high-maintenance brat who's current purpose was to simultaneously annoy and enchant another young mutant.

Holly rolled over and wondered about how the Maximoffs were reacting to the television news.


	9. Chapter 9

"It seems like Holly's got a hold on you, quicksilver," Wanda stated mockingly as the waltzed down the stairs to the basement.

Peter rolled his eyes, watching her in the reflection of the Pong machine he was perched in front of. "Stop calling me that."

"Sure thing, quicksilver," she snorted and threw herself onto the couch haphazardly. "So are you planning on telling her about your feelings?"

Peter turned from the machine to shoot her a dark glare. "Don't you have to be annoying somewhere else?"

"Not until ten," Wanda replied lightly. She sat up to look pointedly at him. "Seriously, Peter, a flower crown? You honestly can't tell me you braided it yourself."

"As a matter of fact, I did," her retorted. "Remember that summer you were following that band around the east coast? I babysat Lorna all the time. She taught me."

"I'm surprised you have that much patience."

"Christ, can't you just go away?" Peter wondered in frustration, not wanting to deal with his twin anymore for the day. He already had enough to think about, for example, the exquisite blush that crept up Holly's face when she had enough of his musical selections this afternoon.

"Why don't you make me go away?" Wanda challenged with a smirk.

"Being hexed by a witch is not one of the things on my bucket list, I assure you," he grumbled.

Before Wanda could reply, the twins were interrupted by the front door slamming shut. "Mom sounds happy," Wanda commented ironically.

"Peter! Get up stairs right now!" their mother yelled down the stairs angrily.

Peter walked at a normal speed upstairs, wanting to prolong the time until he got reprimanded. Wanda, of course, followed him up.

"Mom, I swear, I haven't stolen anything today."

Magda stood in the entranceway of her house, holding up the welcome doormat with an unamused expression. "Care to explain this?"

"Ah, you mean the grey marks?" Peter clarified. He didn't mean to further annoy his mother, it just sort of always happened inadvertently.

Wanda laughed. "I'm fairly certain she means the grey marks."

"Would you believe me if I said it wasn't me?"

Peter shut his mouth, trying not to flinch under the look he received. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't keep quiet for long before he had to make it worse. "It's only ruined a little bit. You can still use it, mom."

Magda exhaled in frustration and dropped the doormat to the floor, giving up. "This is why we can't have nice things!"

"Nice going, slick," Wanda muttered as their mother stomped into the kitchen.

Wanda and Peter sat in front of the television and turned it on.

"Put the news on," Magda barked from the kitchen, and Wanda changed the channel to the news.

Peter was about to complain, but Wanda gave him a look. "She's about to kill you for ruining another doormat in record time. What makes you think she won't actually do it this time?"

Peter grinned. "With this smile, I can get way with everything."

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure Holly would _definitely_ agree with that statement."

"I think she would," Peter replied confidently.

 _"Diplomats from all around the world are arriving here today at the Hotel Royale," the reporter stated. "It's an historic day as the official ending of the United States's military involvement in Vietnam. Here is the South Vietnamese foreign minister with other South Vietnamese dignitaries…"_

"Would you two stop talking for once and watch the television," Magda complained, sitting on the couch alongside two of her children. She took a long sip of her drink. "This is an important day for your country, and yet you two are arguing right through it. What would your stepfather have said about your behavior?"

At the mention of their late stepfather, the twins grew silent, knowing not to argue with their mother when she was remembering him. He was a good man, but none of them ever talked about him much.

"Jesus Christ!" Peter exclaimed, standing up in shock.

Wanda and Magda sat silently, staring at what was unfolding on the television.

A blue woman fell from the window of the building and morphed into a member of the public once she hit the ground.

"I didn't know there were more of us in Europe," Wanda mused. "I just kind of figured it was an American thing."

"Mutants are all over Europe and the world, Wanda," Magda replied in an odd voice. Peter looked at his mother and he saw a strange glimmer in her eyes, as if she was remembering something she had forgotten long ago.

"Now, he's not bad to look at," Wanda remarked.

Magda's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in horror, making Peter look back at the screen. "Wanda, do not say that about him."

He instantly recognized Erik, the man he broke out of the Pentagon, levitating to the ground.

"What is he doing?" Wanda asked as Erik began to pull the blue woman towards him.

"She must have metal inside of her," Magda answered breathily. "She must have been shot."

Peter looked from Erik on the screen to his mother on the couch. "How do you know he can move metal, mom?" he asked slowly, feeling as if he knew the answer, but couldn't quite grasp its words just yet.

Magda still was paying complete attention to the television and didn't think about what she was saying. "I used to know him a long time ago."

"You knew _him?"_ Wanda replied, surprised by her mother's admission.

That snapped Magda out of her trance and she stared at Peter. "How do you know he can move metal, Peter?"

Peter looked to the carpet, the ceiling, anywhere but his mother as he slowly came to the realization he had been grasping at ever since the day at the Pentagon.

 _"Well, I guess it's up to us to move it," Magda said to Peter in resignation as they grabbed the sides of the refrigerator box to haul it towards the house._

 _They took a break once they brought the box inside the doorway. "You know, I once knew a guy who had the ability to move metal with his mind."_

 _"I wish you were still with him so that I didn't have to be awake right now," Peter grumbled_.

"Why haven't we ever met him, if he's one of your friends?" Wanda mused. She always knew her mother had known mutants other than them, but she never heard much about them.

"I am not his friend, and he's not mine."

"Why not?" Wanda pried some more.

"He's a bad person. He killed JFK."

Peter's face paled. He was right. How could he have not realized who Erik was sooner?

 _"Must've done something pretty serious," Peter said, fishing for answers nosily as he tried to pass the time that it took for the elevator to go up one hundred floors. "What'd you do, man? What'd you do?"_

 _When the man didn't reply, Peter decided he had nothing better to do than to annoy him. "What'd you do?" he drawled, doing his best impression of his sister, hoping it would annoy the man as much as it annoyed himself. "Why'd they have you in there?"_

 _The man sighed, still bracing himself against the wall. "For killing the President."_

 _"Ooh," Peter mouthed to himself, feeling impressed with himself that he broke out an assassin. "Shit," he mouthed back at the taped-up security guard. Holly was not going to be pleased when she finds out she aided in the escape of a President-killer._

 _"The only thing I'm guilty of is fighting for people like us," the man continued, still trying his hardest to regain his breath._

 _Fighting? "You take karate? You know karate, man?" Peter asked, suddenly interested in the man. He had just seen the latest Bruce Lee karate film, and he wanted nothing more than to learn it._

 _The man sighed once more. "I don't know karate," he replied, "but I know crazy."_

 _Peter laughed at his reply. For a criminal, he was entertaining. Perhaps Holly would like him too, especially considering she wouldn't have an issue with how slowly he spoke._

 _"They told me you controlled metal," Peter said, attempting to either make smalltalk or pry; he couldn't be sure which was more applicable._

 _"They?"_

 _An elevator bell rang and Peter had a thought. "You know, my mom once knew a guy who could do that," he remarked, pleased with himself that he remembered the conversation with his mother earlier._

 _When the man didn't say anything at all, Peter decided to keep his mouth shut to avoid more awkward conversation. Perhaps Holly wouldn't like the man after all._

"Peter, are you alright?" Magda asked Peter.

He drew himself from his thoughts and saw his mother looking at him concernedly. "I've got to go."

Before Magda could protest, Peter was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

_Holly rolled her eyes and tapped her wedged sandal impatiently, silently cursing the loose sand under her feet for not providing the satisfying sound of impatient foot tapping. She had waited for what felt like ages and she was beginning to feel like a jilted fool of a girl, alone in the crowd of people on the beach for the annual Virginia Beach mid-summer bash._

 _"A drink for my lady," Peter whispered in her ear from behind, making a shiver race down her spine at the feeling of his breath on her skin._

 _Collecting herself, she inhaled and turned towards Peter, who passed her the soda she requested. "You have excellent manners for a liar and a thief," she muttered snidely, taking a sip out of the can._

 _Peter snorted and rolled his eyes in amusement at her predictable reaction. "I would hardly call myself that much of a liar, Holls."_

 _"Don't call me that," Holly retorted sharply. "You told me you'd only be gone a moment, yet I waited at least ten minutes for my drink."_

 _"Christ, you're too high-maintenance, you know that?"_

 _"Well I guess you have to work harder to be worthy of such a high-maintenance girl then," Holly replied._

 _There was a glimmer of mirth in her eye that told Peter she wasn't as displeased as she sounded. Typical, he thought. "Just wait," he replied smoothly, "you'll see how hard I work."_

 _Holly grimaced at the suggestively lewd undertone of his previous statement. "I'm sure that sounded different in your head, but, please, never say that again."_

 _Before Peter could offer up a retort in hopes of redeeming himself for the misunderstanding, he was interrupted by the people on the beach erupting into loud cheers and applause for the band onstage. This was it, he thought, glancing at Holly quickly for confidence. She had no idea what was about to hit her._

 _"Now, I've had a lot of requests for the next song," the band's frontman said over the microphone, "which is surprising, considering it came out almost half-a-decade ago, but, alas, the crowd has spoken! The next song we'll be playing is 'Elenore' by The Turtles!"_

 _The crowd erupted into a fresh round of cheers. Holly's face lit up in excitement as she turned to Peter to say, "I love this song!"_

 _Peter grinned back at her mischievously. "I know."_

 _"However, I'd like to invite a special young man onto the stage to win over a beautiful lady," the frontman continued with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. "So, come on down, Peter Maximoff!"_

 _Holly's mouth dropped open in horrified astonishment as Peter appeared on stage immediately after his introduction._

 _Her feet stayed rooted to her spot. Peter's eyes sought her out in the crowd and smirked at her before he looked out to the rest of the crowd and greeted them excitedly. Holly never knew he could be so charismatic in front of people he didn't know at all, but, then again, he seemed to be full of surprises lately._

 _"I'd like to dedicate this song to the most beautiful, infuriating, and intoxicating girl I've ever met," Peter told the crowd. His confession was met with excited cheering._

 _The first few notes of the song played and Peter began to sing with a voice that enchanted Holly and astonished her at the same time. She had no idea he had such a good singing voice._

 _The crowd loved him and his stage presence, and they only loved it more, yelling "Holly" every time he replaced the name "Elenore" with "Holly" in the lyrics of the song. If she wasn't having such a good time, she might have been annoyed with the scene he was making._

 _After the song ended, Peter appeared next to Holly and the band began to play a different song, the frontman returning to his band. Holly could feel her entire face heating up in a furious blush as he grinned down at her. "What were you hoping to achieve with that stunt, speedy?"_

 _Peter smirked suavely and leaned his head down closer to hers. Holly's heart sped up in response. "I was just kind of hoping you'd fall in love with me," he muttered, his voice becoming gravely in a way that made Holly's knees feel weaker and her mind go fuzzy._

 _"Oh, Peter," she murmured suddenly, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling his lips to hers in a passionate kiss._

Holly rolled over in her sleep, her tongue rolling over her lips in a suggestive way.

 _"Say my name again," Peter asked against her lips._

 _"Peter," Holly complied in a breathless whisper._

"Holly!"

 _"Holly, why is your shoulder shaking like that?" Peter asked concernedly, breaking from her and staring at her shoulder._

 _"What?"_

"Holly, wake up!"

Holly's eyes snapped open as she felt the sensation of falling. She let out a shriek right before she hit her carpeted bedroom floor with a low thud.

"You are the embodiment of grace," a mocking voice said from above her.

Holly closed her eyes and groaned. "Why does this always happen to me?" she muttered as she picked herself off of the floor to stare blankly at Peter. "I'm not even going to ask why you're in my room right now as long as you explain to me why in _Hell_ you think it a good idea to throw me off my bed?"

Peter collapsed onto her bed, grinning at the way it bounced under him. "Well, if you'd have woken up properly the first time I shook you, I wouldn't have had to do it harder."

Holly rolled her eyes and walked into her closet and turned the light on. "I am going to change into something else," she called out to him, "but that does not give you permission to follow me in here."

"I wouldn't dream of it, darling," he replied with a chuckle.

Holly threw on a pair of flared jeans, an off the shoulder top and a pair of flat sandals before walking back into her room. She grabbed her make-up bag and hair brush and stood in front of the mirror. Holly glanced in the mirror to look at Peter. "Speaking of dreams, I was having the most wonderful one before you so rudely woke me up."

"Oh, I _heard."_

The suggestive tone of his voice told Holly all she needed to know about how much he knew about her dream. She knew she talked in her sleep once and a while, and she happened to be unlucky this time. "How long have you been here?"

Peter smirked happily at her. "Longer than you'd like."

"Damn it, Peter," Holly cursed in annoyance, "you can't just come into my room for no good reason!"

He threw his hands in the air in self-defense. "Hey, I didn't say that I have no good reason. In fact, I have a good reason this time!"

Holly turned to him and narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to overlook the 'this time' remark as long as you tell me now."

Peter averted his eyes to the floor nervously. "I need to talk to you about something important."


	11. Chapter 11

It was the lost look in his eyes that told Holly that there was something wrong with Peter, and she had a sinking feeling that it had to do with the events at the Paris Peace Accords the day before.

Perhaps it was the way he was staring at her floor intently, or the way his voice lacked the usual mocking lilt, his face lacking the carefree, mischievous grin she had grown to adore, that made her sit next to him on her bed.

She laid a land on his bare arm and he looked up at her with lost eyes that she thought she'd never see him have. "Peter, what happened last night?"

Peter drew his lips into a tight grimace. He took a moment to himself to think about what he wanted to tell her, anything to make her not think he was someone to be pitied.

The ringing of the phone in the hallway seemed distant even though it was right outside of her bedroom's shut door. Would Peter tell her about Magneto being his father? He had come to her with that purpose, but, as he looked at her innocent expression, he began to second guess himself.

"Peter, I won't judge you, I promise," Holly said quietly.

There was a curt knock on the door. "Holly, your friend, Wanda, is on the phone for you, dear," Holly's grandmother said through the door.

Holly looked at Peter in confusion, but before she could question him, Peter whispered frantically, "Don't tell her I'm here. I don't want to talk to them right now."

Holly frowned. "I'll be right back," she said and left her room, closing her door behind her so that her grandmother didn't see a boy in her room.

Her grandmother handed her the phone and walked away, giving Holly privacy. "Hello?"

"Holly, have you seen Peter today?" Wanda asked.

Holly almost winced at the concerned distress in her friend's tone, but knew she had to lie to her nonetheless. "I'm sorry, I haven't heard from him at all today. I only just woke up." Holly paused. "Is everything okay?"

Wanda sighed. "Yeah, are you free today? I need to tell you something."

"I'm actually working today, but I'm free tomorrow."

"I'll be over in a bit," Wanda said hurriedly. "I'll be gone by the time you go to work, I swear. I just really need to talk to you."

Holly's protest was cut off by Wanda hanging up the phone. Holly cursed in her head; of _course_ Wanda wouldn't be able to wait until the next day— she was a Maximoff after all.

"Grandma, I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back in time for work," Holly called down the hall into the kitchen. Once her grandmother replied that it was alright, Holly went back into her bedroom and closed the door again.

"Your sister is on her way over."

Peter's head shot up and he looked at her with a surprised expression. "I don't want to see her!"

Holly threw her hands up defensively. "I know! She didn't give me an opportunity to tell her no."

Peter ran a hand through his hair frustratedly and stood up. "Come here, we're going somewhere else," he said, gathering her into his arms and running out the door of her room and out the front door of the house, knowing her grandparents would have no idea what he just did.

When he came to his destination, he set Holly down on the bench next to him, her body on his lap. Even though he was in a sour and confused mood, he still couldn't help himself around the beautiful disco princess he liked to think of as _his_.

"Damn it, Peter! Warn me next time, please?" Holly gasped, altering the speed of her body adjusting to the sudden speed and slowdown of Peter running her somewhere so that she wouldn't feel the negative effects of it.

Peter smiled guiltily at her. "Sorry, Holls."

Holly looked up at Peter's face and watched it slowly fall into a faraway expression. In any other circumstances, she would have objected to her position on his lap as an abuse of his privilege to kiss her and be close to her, but she didn't have it in her this time. She wrapped an arm around his back and looked in the direction he was looking.

They sat in the empty track stadium silently for a couple of minutes before Peter twirled a loose piece of her ginger hair around his fingers. "I like to come here whenever I want to get away from everything," he said quietly.

"It is peaceful," Holly remarked in agreement.

Peter nodded. "When I was younger, my stepfather used to bring me here to see the track races… I used to dream of running like all the athletes," he admitted almost bashfully.

Holly cupped his cheek with her free hand and smiled encouragingly up at him. "You still have time," she said. "Everyone always has time to follow their dreams."

He didn't respond for a moment, so Holly decided to give him some help. "Would it help if you told me what's upsetting you? I can tell something is wrong."

Peter chuckled and smiled mirthlessly down at her. "Wasn't it just a few days ago you were telling me in the diner that we barely knew each other?"

"Yes, but I feel like I've gotten to know a bit more about you since then," she shrugged. "Or, at least, I can tell when you're not acting as annoying as you usually do."

Peter barely smiled at her playful statement. "I've made a huge mistake and I want to tell you, but I don't want you to know at the same time."

"I won't judge you, speedy, you know that," Holly reminded him gently.

"I just feel like an idiot for not realizing who Magneto when we brooke him out of the Pentagon," Peter finally burst out frustratedly.

Holly nodded solemnly. "I didn't know he would do what he did in Paris either," she said. "I feel so guilty about it."

"No," Peter interrupted, shaking his head, "I didn't mean about that. I was with him in an elevator for one-hundred floors and I didn't realize who he was the entire time."

"I don't understand…"

"He's my father, Holly!" Peter exclaimed, searching her eyes frantically. "I was with him for such a long time and I didn't even realize that he was my own father!"

Holly did her best not to gape or react in any way to the revelation. She didn't react when she found out about her mother the night before and she didn't react when she found out about Peter's father today. As far as she was concerned, they had never been in their lives before, so it didn't matter that their parents were suddenly relevant once more. They didn't need them then and they _certainly_ didn't need them now.

Peter looked down at the girl in his arms and on his lap, wishing she'd say something, _anything_ to end the uncomfortable silence. "Holly?"

Holly looked out at the field and pursed her lips. "Does Wanda know?"

"No, I didn't tell her and I doubt my mom has either," he answered tonelessly, not even wanting to think about how his volatile twin would react to the news that he had broken his father out of a federal prison.

Holly looked back into Peter's eyes and he calmed down when her thumb began to stroke his cheek soothingly. "How do you feel about this?"

Peter shut his eyes and inhaled. "I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "I called the School where Logan and Charles and Hank were, hoping I'd get ahold of someone who would tell me anything about my father, but Logan wouldn't tell me anything about him. All he said was that I was too young to get involved in the mess and to turn to you to work out my issues."

"He told you to turn to me?" Holly repeated, somewhat confused at Logan's suggestion; Peter remembered that Holly has never been present for the times when Logan would hint that Peter knew Holly in the distant future. "He barely knows me past that one afternoon."

"Apparently, he knows the both of us in the future and that you help me whenever I'm upset there."

"I'm sorry," Holly interrupted suddenly, "what?"

Peter shifted uncomfortably; he hadn't planned on telling Holly this part because he didn't want to ruin whatever it was they had right now. "Logan is from the future."

"Yeah, I understood that part," Holly stated dismissively. "What about the other part?"

"According to him, we're together in the future," Peter explained in a lower volume. "Like _together_ together."

The way Peter said it made Holly burst out into laughter.

Peter recoiled, visibly upset at her reaction. Of course, she would laugh at the idea of being in a relationship with someone like him in her future. She was destined for fame and greatness, while he was headed straight for a future involving his mother's basement and stolen arcade games.

Holly's eyes widened and her smile disappeared instantly when she realized how Peter interpreted her laughter. She pressed her lips against his cheek, smiling against his skin as his body tensed. She looked into his dark eyes. "I didn't mean it like that, speedy," she assured him cheerfully. "I am just so relieved to find out that I will actually end up with someone who will put up with me for that long."

Peter's heart sped up at her declaration. He felt a smug smirk begin to form on his face, but as soon as it started, it went away again, leaving him with a sullen expression once more as he wondered what Logan's admission meant for them in the present.

Seeing the gears working over time in Peter's head, she moved her hand from his cheek to his hair, running her fingers through it to calm him down again. "Sure, it's somewhat off-putting to learn that we're in a relationship in the future," she admitted, "but all that means for us, in the present, is that we don't have to rush into anything since we definitely have the rest of our lives to be together. Besides," she added with a self-assured smile, "I'm chronokinetic. We have all the time in the world to figure things out."

Peter knew in that moment that he would never regard another female with the same level of adoration and emotion as he did for Holly. Pulling her body closer to his, if that even was possible, he pressed his lips to hers in a sweet embrace. He felt all of the tension leave his shoulders as she sighed into his kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck.

He wished with every fiber of his being that they could just do this, be like this, forever, but then he remembered his current predicament. Peter pulled back from Holly slightly and she looked into his eyes with genuine concern. "I think you should talk about it with your mom, Peter," she suggested. "I know you don't want to, that you feel like she betrayed you for keeping it from you, but it will help, I promise you."

Peter looked away in partial-disbelief, but Holly turned his head back to hers with a finger under his chin. "How do you know?" Peter asked.

Holly smiled gently. "That's a story for another day," she replied. "Just talk to her and don't make any rash decisions before you do."

Peter groaned. "I'd rather spend the day with you."

"I have to work, Peter," she laughed playfully, "but you can come around the store later if you want to talk or hang out some more."

Peter kissed her again. "I'll definitely see you later, _darling_ ," he muttered smoothly against her lips.


End file.
